Return of the Novel!

Does pulling a Cinderella count before Midnight? Yes, I had a few hours to go before the clock struck midnight and I finally made it to my keyboard. The important thing is not the full Monday crash that happened around dinner time with the sniffles. Maybe it was the sight of our first flurries. This kind of event may have happened before but I didn’t witness it.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the holiday season up North but I always dread the first real snowfall. My fingers were in denial that I even typed that last sentence. Swaddled in warm blankets in the middle fo the night while most of the households around me are sleeping, the clunk of my fingers was heard.

Throughout the day, I thought about my small town story set up near the Northern Minnesota Border. I had a few starts and then a fizzle. Why didn’t the story grab me? I started in New York and then moved the character to a small town that really exists for visitors to get into the wolf call. I even took a road trip to view the wild, howling creatures in their new habitat.

A white, furry wolf and gray fellow approached the window a few times before they walked their normal, worn path and sat on top of their favorite rocks. I imagined all kinds of scenarios, and changed a few details about the International Wolf Center for my story. Plotting had begun and then life happened with other kinds of deadlines for my other muse.

My art muse took over to meet unexpected show and event deadlines because I’m not going to turn down an opportunity to show my work. The challenge was keeping my writing muse happy. Good thing I still write every day through blogging. My monthly challenge that turned into a blog was one of the best things that happened during 2020.

Why? Having a Monday through Friday blog gave me consistency that I was missing. And you know what? Keeping every day word count helps even when I’m pressed for time because it forced me to keep a habit. My fingers know it’s possible to turn this habit into another novel.

Now, it’s just a matter of focusing on the story that was interrupted in 2021 for NaNoWriMo. Even with all the practice in the world, I still struggle with the same things as all writers. I ask myself sever times, where am I going with this story? I also ask myself, can my story survive without the romantic elements even if the romance is the main focus?

The wheels are turning, my beginning of November is a little squeaky but it’s a start. I have to go fix my plot holes from last time now. Until tomorrow.

My posts are Monday through Friday. Get registered at https://nanowrimo.org.

Get closer to your writing goals with my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/Writers-Journal-Writing-Prompts-Notes/dp/B0931QRL7C.

~Yoon Ju

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